Charred peppers give tender chickpeas a smoky, sweet flavour; green olives and red wine vinegar keep the dish fresh and savoury. Tear off pieces of crusty bread to soak up the oil and pepper juices.
This is a modern, Mediterranean-inspired main course, not a dish attributed to any one specific regional tradition. The combination centres on a few distinctive flavours: sweet, smoky peppers, creamy chickpeas, briny green olives and the sharp edge of red wine vinegar. Garlic and olive oil bring everything together without overpowering the peppers. The crusty bread is practical, too: use it to mop up the seasoned juices that collect in the pan.
Roasting the peppers until the skins are dark in many places is more important than simply softening them. The heat gives the flesh a deep, slightly smoky flavour. Cover them after roasting and set them aside: the steam makes the skins easier to peel. A few black spots on the skin are welcome, but don’t discard the peppers if the flesh itself has a few dark edges, too. Do remove the cores and any loose, burnt pieces of skin.
Red peppers are available all year round; in summer and early autumn there is often more choice of flavourful fresh ones. Choose firm peppers that are roughly the same size so they roast evenly. Jarred roasted peppers can be a quick substitute, but drain them well and keep in mind that the smoky flavour and warm, roasted aroma will be less pronounced. Use plain peppers, not an oil-packed variety with herbs, so you can control the flavour yourself.
Canned chickpeas make this dish practical. Rinse and drain them; a little water in the pan then helps the oil, garlic and pepper juices form a lightly thickened coating. Heat everything gently: a vigorous boil makes the chickpeas break apart more quickly and the liquid evaporate too fast. Olives vary widely in saltiness, so taste before adding extra salt. Green olives make a bold, piquant counterpoint; black olives work too, but are generally milder and change the character of the dish.
Add the vinegar and parsley at the very end. The vinegar brightens the mild legumes and balances the salty olives; fresh parsley brings a green, herbaceous note. Serve the dish straight away with crusty sourdough or another bread with a firm crust. A simple green salad goes well alongside if you’d like to round out the meal. Once cooled, store any leftovers covered in the fridge and eat them within two days; warm them gently in a pan with a splash of water.
Preheat the oven to 240 °C (top and bottom heat). Place the peppers on a baking sheet and roast for 25–35 minutes. Turn them every 8–10 minutes, until the skins are charred all over and the peppers are soft.
Put the hot peppers in a bowl and cover with a plate or foil. Leave them for 10 minutes. Peel off the skins, remove the stems and cores, and cut the flesh into wide strips. Catch any juices that run out.
Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over medium-low heat. Add the garlic and cook for 1–2 minutes, until fragrant but not browned.
Add the chickpeas, peppers, reserved pepper juices, water, salt and pepper to the pan. Warm gently for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the olives and heat for another 2 minutes.
Remove the pan from the heat. Stir in the red wine vinegar and parsley, then taste and add more salt or pepper if needed. Serve warm with the bread.
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